Salt-pan



FFICE.

DANIEL SHIRLEY, OF HUTCHINSON, KANSAS.

SALT-PAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,948, dated December 30, 1890.

Application filed March 14, 1890. Serial No. 343,881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL SHIRLEY, of Hutchinson, in the county of Reno and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Salt-Pans, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invent-ion relates to an improvement in salt-pans, and has for its object to prevent the buckling or warping of such pans and to secure the best results from the fuel consumed.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through the apparatus and pans. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the end containing the furnace and a vertical section through the frame surrounding the pans. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the evaporatingpan, the frame, and support for said pan. Fig. 4 is a similar section taken through the settlingpan, its support, and frame; and Fig. 5 isa plan view of both pans, the frame being in horizontal section.

Salt-pans as now employed are securely fastened to the frame-work of the structure, and but little opportunityis therefore afforded for expansion when hot, and as the pan becomes heated it is forced by the expansion which naturally occurs to bulge or buckle, the rivets being often forced to come away, causing leaks and frequent delays for repairs. Then again the buckling renders the pan very rough and uneven, and it is with difficulty that the salt is cleanly removed, and it is absolutely necessary that all the salt be removed from the evaporating-pan, as if any ,particles remain they form into scales, and

the .scales when created prevent the water from coming in contact with the pan, thereby subjecting it to intense heat, which is very damaging. The scales on the pan also render it necessary to use more fuel than would be required with clean pans. The pans are divided into two sectionsnamely, the settler A, into which the brine is placed, and an evaporator A', in which the salt is made. The pans are supported upon walls of brick or masonry, or similar material, the side walls 10 being made in two heights. The forward portion of said side walls is higher than the rear portion, and upon the elevated portion of said Walls the settling-pan A is placed, and the evaporating- `pan is located immediately above the lower` portion of the wall.

The foundation for the pans which the walls properly form is provided with a forward end wall 11, an intermediate bridgewall 12, located near the rear of the elevated section of the side walls, a second intermediate bridge-Wall 13, opposite the bridge-wall 12, yet spaced therefrom, the said intermediate bridge-wall 13 being beneath the forward end of the evaporating-pan, and the formation of the foundation is completed by forming a rear-end wall 14, having suitable openings or. doors 15 produced therein, and within the foundation at the inner side of this rear wall l-i the furnace 1G is located. The space between the side walls, the rear end wall 14,

and bridge-wall 13 is not filled up, but the space intervening the bridge-wall12 and the forward end wall 11 is filled in with dirt ora similar material iiush with the upper edge of said walls and the side walls of the foundation. At each side of the foundation vertical'standards 17 are placed, which standards are preferably connected at their sides by upper 1ongitudin al beams 18 and lower intermediate beams 19, and each pair of transversely-aligning standards is preferably connected by a cross-bar 20.

1 will first describe the construction of the evaporating-pan. This pan may be made in a number of sections, secured together in any suitable or approved manner, preferably in such manner as to present a smoutl'ninner.-

surface, the evaporating-pan being preferably of a length sufficient to extend over the end wall 14 of the foundation and the intermediate bridge-wall 13. The sides of the pan are made flaring, as illustrated at a in Figs. 2 and 3, and to the outer flaring side edges of the pan a drip-board 21 is attached. The

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standards 17 pass upward through the dripboard, and where the said standards project through the said board au opening22 is made, preferably circular, and of suflicient diameter to permit free vertical movement of the pan and drip-board, each of which openings 22 is provided with an upwardly-extending collar 23, surrounding the saine, whereby when the salt is drawn from the evaporating-pan to the drip-board none of it will pass down through the openings In order to permit the free expansion and contraction of the evaporating-pan, the said pan is not attached at any point to its foundation, being suspended from the frame-work surrounding the foundation. This suspension of the pan is preferably accomplished by passing straps 2-1 under the pan at suitable intervals, the ends of which straps extend upward within the space between the horizontally-aligning standards 17, the said straps being ordinarily so located that one strap will bein alignment with each transversely-facing standard, as best shown in the plan View in Fig. 5. The ends of the straps 24 are attached to the lower ends of bolts 25, which bolts project upward through the cross-bars 2O immediatelyabove them, and are provided at their upper projecting` end with a lock-nut of any description. Thus the evaporatingpan may be vertically adjusted as required by excessive contraction or expansion.

In order to prevent cold air from passing into the furnace between the bottom of the evaporating-pan and the side, end, and intermediate walls of the foundation, a plate is projected horizontally from the outer face of each side wall the length of the evaporating-pan, and also from the rear end wall 14 and the forward face of the intermediate bridge-wall 13. Each of these plates is purposed to support a trough 26, (shown in Figs. l. and which trough is preferably filled with ashes, slaked lime, or water, and from the sides and ends of the evaporating-pan a curtain-like plate 27 is projected vertically downward, which curtain-like plates are adapted to enter the troughs 2G, t-hereby effeetually forming a seal between the lower surface of the pan and the approaching su rfacc of the foundation.

The settling-pan A rests upon the earth-bed contained between the bridge-wall 12 and the forward end wall 11, and the said pan is divided into two compartments B and B by a vertical partition 2S, in the upper edge of which, near the center, a cavity 29 is preferably formed.

. A transverse Hue 30 is constructed at the forward end of the settling-pau,from the center of which fluo rises a chimney 31, and the said pan is further provided with a series of tubes 32, preferably oval in cross-section, arranged longitudinally of the pan in contact with its bottom and extending from its forward to its rear end, the extremities of the tubes being made to pass outward through the rear end of the settling-pan and the forward extremities into the due 30, the said tubes being connected with the end walls of the pan by a water-tight joint.

There is always a certain amount of impurity in the brine, such as lime, plaster, alkali, fcc., and the settler or settling-pan is intended to precipitate as much of these impurities as possible before the brine enters the salt or evaporatingpan. This alkali, tbc., is the cause of much annoyance by forming into scales upon the bottom of the pan. It is therefore important. to get rid of as much as possible of this before the brine leaves the settler. To precipitate much of the plaster, &c., it is necessary to bring the brine to a temperature as near the boiling-point as possible. In the usual construction of salt-pans there are two difliculties in the way of accomplishing this. One arises from the fact that, the settler-section of the pan being at the farthest end of the foundation or farthest removed from the furnace, therefore sufficient' heat does not reach the settling-pan to sufliciently raise the temperature as pans are ordinarily constructed. Then, again, if sufficient heat did reach the settling-pan to raise the brine to the required tempera'ture, as pans are now constructed, evaporation would take place sufficient to make salt in the settler, which is objectionable.A I overcome this objection by forming in the bridge-wall 13 an opening 33 and constructing upon said bridge-wall a vertical partition 34, extending up parallel with the forward edge of the said bridge-wall 13, and at a right angle inward to a contact with the rear end of the settling-pan immediately above the exit of the tubes 32, as best shown in Fig. 1. This vertical partition 34 does not interfere with the trough 2G of the foundation or curtain 27 at the forward end of the evaporating-pan, as it is removed therefrom, and, by reason of the formation of this partitionwall 34, a fiue 35 is created between the said partition-wall and the bridge-wall 12, whereby the heat from the furnace 1b', after passing beneath the evaporating-pan, also passes th rough the openings of the bridge-wall 12 by the flue 35 into the tubes 32, and through said tubes into the flue 30, from whence it finds an exit through the chimney 31.

If the brine in the settling-pan is brought to the required temperature, even in the manner above stated, to produce the most desirable results, a great quantity of lime, alkali, &c., will be deposited in the settling-pan. This then would become quite troublesome by forming into scales upon the bottom of the pan. The tubes 32, however, prevent the occurrence of this ditiiculty, as they are made oblong` or oval in cross-section, as heretofore stated; and the said tubes carry all the heat more nearly in direct contact with the water or brine by being of this shape than if they were eircularin cross-section, and at the same time do not permit so much of the lime, alkali, the., to settle upon them.

The settling-pan, as heretofore stated, is divided into two compartments. The first IOO Ion

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compartment B is intended to contain as much water or brine as the heat obtained will bring to the boiling-point. If the quantity of water in the settling-pan be too great, the temperature reached will not be high enough to produce the desired result. The rst compartment of the settling-pan is for the purpose of depositing the lime, alkali, the. The vnext compartment B is partly for the same purpose, but is intended more especially to utilize the heat that would otherwise be lost after passing through the first compartment of the settler.

It is intended to bring the brine in the first compartment of the settler to a temperature as near the boiling-point as possible; but with brine at full saturation and at such temperature salt would be made, as heretofore stated, in the settling-pan. To prevent this I have constructed wooden covers 36 the exact size of the settling-pan, and iioat said covers upon the top of the brine. To prevent these covers from sinking after they become water-soaked, ropes or chains 37 are attached to the corners and passed over pulleys 38 above the settlingpan, as shown best in Figs. 3 and 4; and to the ends of the ropes, cords, or chains passed over the pulleys weights are attached sufticiently heavy to keep the covers upon the top of the water. By this arrangement evaporation is prevented, and the difficulty of salt being formed in the settling-pan is overcome.

The settling-pan is preferably provided with an opening at a convenient point at its bottom, whereby the said pan may be cleaned, the said opening being normally covered or filled by a plug or its equivalent.

Another difculty met with in the usual method of constructing such pans is the thin scum or layer of salt forming on the surface of the brine. This scum or layer of salt resembles somewhat a thin layer of ice or snow upon a pool of water. Then such a layer forms, it excludes the air from the Water, and thereby prevents or impedes evaporation. It is partially to obviate this difficulty that I have elevated the settling -pan above the evaporating or salt pan but the difhculty is entirely overcome by suspending a pipe 39 over the evaporating-pan, preferably at its center, which pipe is ordinarily of sufficient length to extend from end to end of the pan, and at the upper end the pipe is carried vertically upward and made to terminate in a funnel 40, which funnel is .located immediately beneath a spout 41, the said spout being inserted in a cavity formed in the rear or lower end of the settling-pan, as illustrated in Figs. l and 3. The pipe is perforated throughout its entire length, more or less, thus permitting the brine as it enters the distributing-pipe 39 to spray out over the pan in similar manner to water leaving the rose of a sprinkling-can. This distributing-pipe 39 is supported from the frame surrounding the foundation of the structure in any suitable or approved manner, being preferably so supported that it may be swung to one side or the other out of the way.

If in practice it is found desirable, instead of completely suspending the evaporatingpan from the frame-work of thc structure, the center may be supported by pillars or equivalent devices.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. In an evaporating apparatus, an evaporating-pan, a furnace thereunder, a settlingpan provided with a flat float, the entire lower face of which rests upon the liquid, and flues extending through the settling-pan below the float, communicating with the furnace, and leading to a chimney, substantially as set forth.

2. In an evaporating apparatus, the combination, with a settling-pan having compartments and heating-dues, of fiat iioats in the compartments over the fines, the entire lower faces of the floats resting on the liquid, substantially as set forth.

3. An evaporating apparatus comprising a furnace, a frame-work having standards 17 and cross-pieces 20, an evaporating-pan over the furnace and provided with drip-boards having apertures, collars 23 around said apertures and through which the standards project, rods suspending the pan from said cross pieces, and a settling-pan heated from the said furnace and discharging into the evaporating-pan, substantially as set forth.

4. In an evaporating apparatus, a settlingpan provided with means for heating it, flat oats in said pan, the entire lower faces of the floats resting on the liquid, pulleys mounted above the pan, and weigh ted cords passed over the pulleys and connected to opposite sides of the floats, substantially as set forth.

5. An evaporating apparatus comprising a furnace, a frame-work extending around and over the same, an evaporating-pan suspended from the frame over the furnace, a longitudinally-extending foraminated pipe 39, having an upt-urned inlet end 40, hangers suspending said pipe from the cross-pieces of the frame, and a settling-pan having iiues commu nicating with the furnace and provided with an outlet 4l, discharging into said inlet 40, substantially as set forth.

DANIEL SHIRLEY.

Witnesses:

L. S. MCFARLAND, SAMUEL MGFARLAND.

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